Transcript: Plant Protein Preferable

The dietary recommendations of countries that rely on their health departments to formulate them, rather than their agriculture departments, more closely parallel the recommendations of academics, such as Walter Willet, the chair of Harvard’s nutrition department, who, in his “Essentials of healthy eating: a guide,” talks about picking the best “protein packages,” recognizing that food is a package deal. And so, one of his top three recommendations is we should emphasize plant sources of protein, rather than animal sources.

See, to the metabolic systems engaged in protein production and repair, it doesn’t matter whether amino acids come from animal or plant protein.

However, protein is not consumed in isolation. Instead, it is packaged with a host of other nutrients—the “baggage” I refer to in previous videos. The quality and amounts of fats, carbohydrates, sodium, and other nutrients in the ‘‘protein package’’ may influence long-term health. For example, results from the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study suggest that eating more protein from beans, nuts, seeds, and the like—while cutting back on refined carbohydrates like white flour—reduces the risk of heart disease.

So, the bottom line? Go with plants. Eating a plant-based diet is healthiest.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Peter Mellor.

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Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. Be sure to check out all the videos on dietary guidelines and heart disease. If you’re worried about the gassiness of beans, check out my blogpost Clearing the Air. And as always, there are 1,449 subjects covered in my other videos–please feel free to explore them!

Cocowillie

So doc, can you direct me to any of your videos that rate the top protein rich veggies? You are changing lives – mine and my kids, especially! Thank you.

Toxins

Hello Cocowillie,

When I tell people I don’t eat animal products the first thing i hear is “where do you get your protein?”. It is in fact, a myth, that plant foods are not complete proteins and in reality, all fruits and vegetables contain complete proteins so there is no need to compliment 2 foods for a full amino acid profile. If you eat when your hungry, energy expenditures satisfy protein intake. The American Dietetic Association acknowledges this fact as well “Plant protein can meet protein requirements when a variety of plant foods is consumed and energy needs are met. Research indicates that an assortment of plant foods eaten over the course of a day can provide all essential amino acids and ensure adequate
nitrogen retention and use in healthy adults; thus, complementary proteins do not need to be consumed
at the same meal” http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/2009_ADA_position_paper.pdf
Plant foods such as spinach contain more of a percentage of protein than beef. For example, spinach is 51% protein and mushrooms are 35% while beef is 36% protein.

Furthermore, Regarding our actual requirements for protein. For the average human being, male or female, the minimum has been set to 20 grams per day. This is according to Dr. William Rose of the University of Illinois back in 1942. Dr. John McDougall states that our body only uses about 10 grams of protein per day since we don’t actually store protein but use it as our body needs http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/031200puprotein.htm The World Health Organization states “adequate levels of protein intake are recommended to be 0.45 grams of protein per kilogram of ideal body weight per day”. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_935_eng.pdf For me weighing at 150 pounds, that comes out to about 30 grams of protein per day. Note that the World Health Organization states this as a “safe” level, meaning it is not a minimum. Bottom line is, our body doesn’t need a large amount of protein, and since all plant foods contain more than adequate protein quality and levels, to focus on eating a “protein” is not necessary. If you eat when your hungry and till your full on a plant based diet, you are getting MORE than enough protein. If anything, in today’s society we should be worried about getting too much protein since too much protein gets broken down to uric acid and strains our kidneys.
Let me know if you have any other questions, such as omega 3 requirements or any other question of the sorts.

This whole “complete protein” business is confusing. Yes, all plant foods contain all essential amino acids. But most are not in the perfect proportion necessary for us to build our own human protein. In my experience, the two amino acids to watch are lysine and methionine. They are usually the limiting amino acids. Whole grains are usually low in lysine, legumes are usually low in methionine. Plus, there are a few nonessential amino acids that are not present in plant foods, so in that sense plant protein is indeed incomplete. In my experience 2000 calories of plant foods supplies 63-73 g of protein. Not bad.

Jim

Grains and legumes together supply a complete protein. It used to be believed that you had to eat them at the same time in order to get the complete benefit, but that has been proven false. As long as you eat a diet of grains and legumes, your body will get all of the proteins that it needs. Non essential proteins are not needed in the diet, hence being called “non essential.”

The term “complete protein” refers to amino acids, the building blocks of protein. There are 22 different amino acids that can form a protein, and nine that the body can’t produce on its own. These are called essential amino acids—we need to eat them because we can’t make them ourselves. In order to be considered “complete,” a protein must contain all nine of these essential amino acids in roughly equal amounts.

Thea

baggman744: I was with you until you said “in roughly equal amounts.” I don’t know why you would think we need them in equal amounts? What we need is the 9 amino acids in the amounts that our bodies need.

The following page shows both how much of each amino acid humans need AND what amounts are in whole plant foods. As shown, plant foods have us covered when it comes to protein.
“Vegetables have plenty of protein, and they’re complete proteins as well”http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/protein.html

A quote that is to the point: “So when we compare the actual requirements to what plant foods actually contain, we find that basic plant foods aren’t incomplete at all. They have every essential amino acid, in excess of what we need. It might not surprise you that beans are a complete protein by themselves, but even carrots are a complete protein. Tomatoes are a complete protein. Celery is a complete protein. Even iceberg lettuce is a complete protein.”

baggman744

I probably read the “equal” amounts part somewhere; but thanks for the link, I’ll read it. My best guess was a bodybuilder site, as they/we tend to believe more is better, as in extra amino acids won’t hurt, but not enough could impede performance, etc. I’m constantly adjusting my diet, as I have a propensity to lose muscle weight when I don’t pay attention. So I’m always looking for calorie dense foods.

Thea

baggman744: re: always looking for calorie dense foods. I wish I was in that boat. :-)

On the topic of body building, I thought I would mention that the link I gave you above has a section on body builders/building muscle. Also, you may know all of the info below already, but just in case you would find it helpful (websites and books to get ideas or inspiration), I thought I would share these bits:

———————
When Robert Cheeke started VeganBodybuilding.com in 2002, being the only vegan athlete he knew of, he may not have imagined that the website would quickly grow to have thousands of members. Robert says, “We’re discovering new vegan athletes all the time, from professional and elite levels… to weekend warriors and everyone in between.”

I found this story on the above site: “Pat Reeves has set a new world powerlifting record at the WDFPA World Single Lift Championships. The 66 year old lifter, who has been vegan for 46 years, lifted 94 kg to set a record for the under 50.5kg weight class while competing in France in June 2012. The lift was more than 1.85 times her bodyweight, which is exceptional for her division. Pat is now officially the oldest competing weightlifter in Europe.”

————————–
For those who want a more thorough dietary guide, I suggest Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life by Brendan Brazier. His book is exclusively about vegan sports nutrition and contains a variety of great tasting recipes along with a 12-week daily meal plan.
(from someone on Amazon)

An expert on how diet affects performance and how not to waste energy, Brazier explores how foods in their natural state maximizes energy and health, lowers body fat, improves sleep, and peaks conditioning and physical performance.

Thrive Energy Cookbook includes the use of leafy greens, hemp seeds, quinoa, brown rice, and nuts as staples in an alkaline-forming, plant protein-packed diet regime.

In addition to being a best selling author, Brendan Brazier is a former professional Ironman triathlete. He is the creator of the ZoN Thrive Fitness Program and the award winning, plant-based VEGA product line.

—————–
(from Meetout Mondays)
Plant-Powered Athlete: Griff Whalen [NFL Player]
His teammates say he has the most enviable body on the team. They say he consumes an average of 6,000 calories and 200 grams of protein a day. They also say, he does it all by eating plants!

Wow, thank you kindly for taking the time to pass on all this info!! I assure you, it is very much appreciated. Guess I owe you a veggie smoothie ;-)

A A

False. If you think its true then go what about the Okinawa and seventh day Adventist study in which they are living the longest?

Jim

“Plant foods such as spinach contain more of a percentage of protein than beef. For example, spinach is 51% protein and mushrooms are 35% while beef is 36% protein.”

OK, help me with this one. My understanding is that 51% of calories in spinach come from protein, but spinach is actually less than 10% protein. Is this accurate? If so, then isn’t it misleading to present spinach as being 51% protein? It just sets us up to be exposed as frauds.

mrs. B

Perhaps the measurements in your quote are by dry weight.

Melissa

One is percent of calories, the other is percent by weight.

Melissa

if not a percentage of weight, it could be percentage of volume…like 1 cup of spinach contains…etc. So you have percent of calories, percent of weight, or percent of volume–it all depends what is being measured.

Since there are alot of ways to measure you might look at the actual data. A website I find useful is Cronometer.com.

Cocowillie

Thanks Doc. There is a daily argument in our house about the amount of almond and soy milk I drink. I do not drink cow’s milk unless I run out of the other stuff. Any concerns about the amount of almond or soy?

Keep up the good fight!

Toxins

Hello again Cocowillie,

I am actually not a doctor, just someone who researches nutrition obsessively and tries to stay informed!

To answer your question, almond milk is fine, but be weary of soy milk if you plan on drinking it with fruits or veggies. Check out this video for details.

So you’re saying drinking soy milk with fruits, blocks the absorption of phytonutrients from fruits? I’ve been loading my oatmeal (with soy milk) with fruits, in the hope that I could absorb the most of the powerful nutrients. Should I eat fruits separately?

Ana

The second video also suggests that soy milk may promote health and reduce the risk for future breast cancer by delaying pubertal breast development.

Susan

I often wonder, with so much soy being genetically engineered to be herbicide resistant and sell more health damaging chemicals in the world, if the studies are really promoting better health, or the earning potential to Monsanto, Dow, and other biotech-pesticide companies?
I ingest soy products sparingly, especially after consuming 1/2 cup of organic soy milk, and having my first severe case of either indigestion or acid reflux. Don’t know what it was, but I really felt ill. And it happened just days apart on two different “milks”, one made from organic soy (by a company that regularly samples and tests its product for GMO’s), and the other from a non organic quinoa milk producer.
Other containers bought earlier from both companies showed no adverse side effects but I’m now looking for another calcium-magnesium source to add to my oatmeal in the morning.
Life would be so much easier if we had mandatory labeling and the right to know in North America if the foods we buy or ingest are made from GMO’s. (Both products claimed they were free of GMO’s), but they still could be contaminated from pollen or drift from Roundup, one of the most prolific pesticides in the air, soils, and waters, including rainwater in the USA. And side effects of ingesting glyphosate also appear a lot like GERD.

This is sickening to me
“The Dukan Diet starts with a short, sharp Attack phase where you eat nothing but protein – just meat, fish, eggs and (unlike Atkins) no-fat or low-fat dairy products. This is the kick-start that gives you the initial, rapid weight loss (up to three kilograms in just five days), and sets the tone for the other stages of the plan. Stay on the Attack phase for one to 10 days depending on how much weight you have to lose.

The problem here is that they are not shedding fat weight but water weight.
This is from Dr. McDougall, a plant based advocate
“The initial weight loss is rapid, and therefore very rewarding, for the desperate dieter. Most of this loss, however, is water loss, rather than fat loss. With little carbohydrate in the diet the body resorts to using its glycogen stores of glucose. Glycogen, stored in the liver and muscles, can meet the average person’s glucose needs for about 12 to 18 hours. With each gram of glycogen is stored 2.7 grams of water. The average body stores 300 grams of glycogen. Depletion of the body’s glycogen would result in an almost overnight weight loss of 1110 grams (37 ounces or over 3 pounds). The ketones also cause a strong diuretic effect on the kidneys, resulting in losses of large amounts of fluid. The carbohydrate ceiling for weight loss may be as low as 15 grams, depending on the individual. This is only 60 calories of carbohydrate, which means 1/3 of a baked potato, 1/3 cup of rice, or one orange daily could be your limit of carbohydrate intake in order to remain in sufficient ketosis to suppress your appetite.”
Read the article Dr. McDougall posted and you will see it elaborates on why the high protein diet is so harmful. Link belowhttp://www.drmcdougall.com/res_high_protein_diets.html

wickedchicken

I feel sorry for people’s bodies if they are on the dukan diet.

Logic is clearly out the window when it comes to weight loss diet desperation.

LynnCS

I did the high protein diet we called Atkins in the 70s. Lost weight really fast, but knew nothing of Ketosis then. I was young and failed to stay on it. Because most people can’t maintain it, they/we don’t cause ourselves irreparable harm. Many of the ‘sudden onset kidney failures later in life, I read, can be traced to a high protein diet over a life time. There is often no warning. I really don’t want to take that chance….It’s a no for me!

Michael Greger M.D.

The Dukan Diet appears to be like the European version of the Atkins Diet. The UK National Health Service just highlighted that the Dukan Diet is the fad diet to avoid this holiday season, citing the British Dietetic Association’s conclusion that it is “ineffective and without scientific basis.” I wrote a whole book about these these types of diets, Carbophobia: The Scary Truth Behind America’s Low Carb Craze, available free, full-text at AtkinsExposed.org.

Toxins

Thanks Dr. Greger for the link!

wickedchicken

Always great to have references like this, thank you.

vwg

I’ve been hearing more and more about the fact that legumes and grains have lectins and saponins in them, and that they are anti-nutritive or harmful (mostly hearing this from the paleo diet crowd).

I was wondering if you could shed some light on what the current understanding is on that topic, or if you could point me in the direction of where I could learn more. Thanks!

If you were forced against the wall with an assailant armed with a chicken drumstick and he demanded an answer to the following question, what would you say? The (difficult) question is “About how many chemicals / chemical compounds does the average person consume in his diet daily?”
I’m trying to gain information to strengthen my suggestions to friends to investigate plant-based diets as an alternative remedy to healing ills.
Thanks for all I’ve learned from your articles in the past.

Toxins

It depends what that person is eating. Fish is the most contaminated and I would place poultry at second most contaminated.

In a first aid class we were told high fever is deadly mostly because of protein in the blood becoming denatured. Is there any research indicating different temperatures for animal or plant protein for this to happen?
Maybe this is irrelevant, just wondering :)

In a large pot, cook dried beans in 6 cups water until tender, about 1 ½ hours. Strain excess water. Mince garlic and set aside. In a dry, uncovered skillet, cook white onion, mushrooms, green pepper, and apple until tender. Add to beans with remainder of ingredients. Stir to combine, heat thoroughly and let sit for 10 minutes.

Thank you so much for the kind words Dr. Greger and sincere gratitude for all you do.

Caroline

Hello Dr. Greger
First of all I recently became vegan because of you. My youtube recommended one of your lecture video over a month go and I’ve been learning and researching non-stop ever since.
So I was wondering about Legumes and inflammation in the body. There was a post I read about how legumes cause inflammation in the body (it was a paleo blog..I figured I should educate myself on all sides) Have you in come across any findings or research that would indicate anything at all like this?
Thank you,
Caroline

You might find another approach to more acceptable. The McDougall Diet for the Desperate see his website for the article he wrote in his December 2002 newsletter. If going on a whole food based processed oil free diet with adequate B12 intake doesn’t result in improvement it is a good alternative. He explains a somewhat less restrictive approach as well. You have to be very careful of any processed foods and I would definitely avoid GMO products especially corn and soy. Depending on your symptoms he has also written articles relating to diarrheal disorders(November 2002) and constipation(September 2002). Keep working with your physician(s) and hopefully you will be able to find relief even if you never identify the underlying disorder.

Peter Langelaar

But be carefull … most brown rice proteins contain hetals you don’t want in your system so choose for organic non hexan extracted sprouded brown rice protein. I use a nutrient dense superfood vegan protein meal powder that contains all 9 amino accids and chlorella spirulina maca mangosteen acai and 15 more in one blend only to stay healthy and fit .

Angelene Bryan

Peter, would you mind sharing which vegan powder you use that doesn’t pose a concern for heavy metal content? I cannot seem to find one and I am growing frustrated. Thank you for your time!!

Peter Langelaar

Hi Angelene i send you a message by facebook

Wish you the best day ever

Peter Langelaar
Instagram @Mrchocobean

Peter Langelaar

The protein i use is fed with revered osmosis water and contains max 10ppm on these metals ,but if you take regular protein from brown rice that is watered with normal water you will get more toxins from the water in your protein ( chemicals pesticides pharma products etc etc ) the rice is working as a spounge.

Sebastian Tristan

This is mainly my dietary guideline: I count plant protein. It’s simple and easy. You don’t have to think about other factors seeing as plant protein comes with vitamins, phytochemicals, minerals and are not associated with cholesterol, saturated fat, etc.

taikozfan

good day Dr Greger. I apologise for a slightly lengthy post and if this question has been asked before. I recently contacted a dietician that helped me lose weight as a teenager to ask her to assist me with creating a vegan diet. She is well respected and helped me drop weight quite easily when I was young. Her exact response was as follows “My experience with weight loss programmes on a vegan diet is not good at all. In fact I have so far persuaded every vegan to eat at the very least cheese for the time they want to spend on the weight loss regime. A vegan diet is always high in Carbohydrate and low in good quality protein. Protein stimulates metabolic rate. I anticipate your metabolic rate to be very low because of your weight. Fat has a very low metabolic rate!
If you want to go the vegan way I am afraid I will not be able to help you. It would just be a waste of time and money, or result in a very unbalanced diet, which I am not prepared to work out for you.
Please also consider that children need a high, good quality protein (animal origin preferably) diet in order to grow up into healthy adults. Children need to build masses of muscle for which protein is needed! Please discuss this with your paediatrician.” So my question is… is it easier to lose weight on a non-plant based diet due to the specific meat protein composition? Or is there a clever way to combine plant proteins to be as, or even more effective than meat proteins? Totally confused…. Michelle

Thea

taikozfan: From her own words, your previous dietician is not up to date on even basic nutrition information. A great deal of what was written to you is simply wrong, including her understanding or expression of what children need. Because of that, I think you are better off without her/him. Rather than explain all the ways that she is wrong, I’ll stick to the positive. The good news is that there are great resources for helping you lose weight in the most healthy and safe way possible – the whole plant food way.

Because your questions are specifically about protein, I’ll start by giving you my favorite protein reference information. If you work your way through these articles, you will be greatly relieved concerning your protein worries. For the first link, there is a section on the page that talks about the myth of the need to worry about protein combining. But I recommend going through the whole article.http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/protein.html

Next are some resources that provide the conceptual information you need in order to know how to lose weight. The first is a free lecture on You Tube from Doug Lisle, Ph.D. called, How To Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mindhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAdqLB6bTuQ

Now on to some practical resources that will help you put the above conceptual information into practice.

>>>> Check out Jeff Novick’s other videos, including the Fast Food series for a tasty, affordable and fast recipes. Also, on-line and free is a YouTube series of recipes/cooking shows called something like Chef AJ and The Dietician. I know that Chef AJ will not steer you wrong in terms of weight loss and providing accurate nutrition information.

>>>> Check out the free 21 Day Kickstart program from PCRM. They hold your hand through 3 weeks of eating. Even if you didn’t want to stick to the entire program day by day, the recipes and active support and question forum could be really helpful.

I have plenty more cookbook suggestions, but I’m worried I’ve already overwhelmed you. So, I’ll stop here. One thing to keep in mind on the cookbook suggestions, there are many to choose from and lots of recipe options. If you don’t like the first ones you try, keep looking.

taikozfan, you CAN do this! Please review the references above and post back to let us know how you are doing or if you have any more questions. I hope this helps.

Thea

taikozfan: One more bit I realized I should have included:

Here is part of an answer that Dr. Forrester gave to someone else in a similar situation that I thought might help you:

“Dr. McDougall’s website is a valuable resource especially his newsletter article, The Fat Vegan, which was published in his December 2008 newsletter. You might also watch Dr. McDougall’s free online lecture, The Starch Solution, which goes along way to freeing folks from their misunderstanding about carbohydrates. His website also comes with many recipes from the unsung heroine of the McDougall team… his wife Mary. You can reasonably expect to lose 1/2 to 2# per week depending on your diet’s calorie density and exercise. … Truth in advertising… I have the pleasure of working with Dr. McDougall, Jeff Novick and Doug Lisle but honestly after 35 years as a Family Medicine doctor the science is in and just keeps reinforcing the best path. Good luck.”

taikozfan

Hi Thea, Thank you very much for your detailed response. I appreciate all the time you put into sharing the best information with me. I think you are right. This dietician does not mirror the information that I am learning about and you are right – I don’t feel like trying to ‘convert’ or argue my point of view either. I know she means well. My biggest fear is that I will not be able to do this on my own. I have previously followed a raw food diet ( for 1.5 years) several years ago and about a year ago I competed a juice fast (6 weeks) but it always seems to plateaux after about a 10 kg/ 20 pound weight loss. I never seem to lose enough weight to motivate me not to give up. ( Yes, I know I am responsible or my own health.) I have looked into coaching from the Eat to Live ( Dr Fuhrman) site but $1000 for 3 months! It includes an online assessment from a coach, (30 mins) and then a coaching call (weekly for 20 mins). What can you cover in 20 mins? Unfortunately it is definitely too much for me to afford right now. I joined the Eat to Live membership site where they have a member’s forum but I don’t think the forum works for me. I end up making posts where few respond. It seems to me that the membership is not ideal for me. I will definitely investigate the links you have posted. Thanks again. Michelle

They start a new program at the beginning of every month. So, you missed October. But it would be great to sign up now. Then you will have plenty of time to prepare. For example, when I did it, they sent out a grocery list early on. So, you don’t want to wait until November 1 to signup. You would want ot sign up now. If interested: You can start looking into it sooner by getting (maybe from your library?) the 21 Day Kickstart book. (If you feel that waiting until November 1 is too long.)

And of course, you can watch that video from Dr. Lisle now. I highly recommend that no matter what.

Let us know how it goes!

ptrjnf

hi. this is sort of a long question. it is about sources of protein.
i am a 50 year old male, 188 cm and about 70 kg. slim but not skinny. more than average level of activity and get about 2400 calories per day for stable weight. i do have a problem with gaining muscle mass – it is slow and hard to keep. years ago i found that when i increased my protein intake i ‘ felt better ‘. i do have a history of borderline ( non iron deficient ) anemia. generally i settled for carbs 55%, fat 25%, and protein 20% of caloric intake. so this amounts to about 120 gm of protein a day. fine. over the years i have moved to a more vegan diet but am not quite there yet. right now on a regular day the diet gives me about 20% of my protein from animal sources – dairy yogourt and cheese, the only animal flesh is about once or twice a week some herbavoric fish ( mostly sardines ). very rarely any other animal flesh, and some eggs from the occasional egg noodles or egg bread. i do eat some processed junk food, and do use t.v.p. and soy flour for a protein boost. i love beans, whole grain wheat breads, fruits and greens and veggies.
so the question is how do i get rid of the animal protein from my diet? i find that the ratio of fibre to protein in a vegan diet a bit ‘taxing’ and voluminous. and i am concerned about too much soy protein in the diet. i seem to be ok with gluten, but it must be cooked, adding raw gluten to my breakfast cereal mix does not seem to be a good idea. any suggestions?

I remember when I first started on my plant-based journey and was very concerned about my protein intake. Prior to being vegan/Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) I was a chicken breast guzzling, 6 day a week in the gym guy obsessed with building muscle. I now feel great and build muscle without even worrying about my protein intake. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the grams, percentages and cm’s that we lose sight of the quality of our food. I’m not saying this is you, I am just sharing from personal experience.

I think it is great you are taking steps in a more vegan direction. My journey was step by step. I began a vegetarian that still consumed dairy, fish and eggs. Then, I only consumed eggs and dairy, then dairy, and eventually I was a full vegan. I would say this process took me about 4 years because I had to feel comfortable with the food I was eating and how I was preparing it. This site is one of my favorites for some great plant-based recipes. You can also check out Forks Over Knives for some great recipes as well. While on the subject of cooking, I wouldn’t be too concerned with soy as long as you are sticking to 3-5 servings a day.

Since I am not sure what your workout routine looks like exactly I cannot estimate the rate in which you would gain lean muscle mass. Just remember that when you workout you are actually destroying muscle fiber in order build it back bigger and stronger when you recover. I know plant-based foods can be filling due to their fiber, but this natural pairing creates a wonderful synergistic health effect in order to rid your body of toxins that were produced during the workout while at the same time building your muscle better than it was before. I highly recommend this article on where vegetarians get their protein from. it gives great insight on how much protein we actually need. I will also point out that on occasion I use an organic plant-based protein powder when I am in a hurry, but I mainly add whole foods to my meals, like hemp seeds to my oat meal and smoothies, to give a little more nutrient density.

I wish you health and happiness my friend. I hope this information helps! :-)

Thea

James: Really great post! It was nice of you to spend so much time sharing both your story and giving ideas for healthy eating. I also like the websites you listed for recipe ideas.

I wanted to share with both you and ptrjnf my favorite sources for understanding protein needs. After working my way through these two articles, I had such a better understanding of how to get protein needs covered. It takes away all the fear and myths regarding protein:http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/protein.htmlhttp://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/newsletter/archives/ (check out December 2003 for McDougall’s site, “A Brief History of Protein: Passion, Social Bigotry, Rats, and Enlightenment”. Also April 2007, “When Friends Ask: Where do you get your protein?”)

That information combined with personal experiences like James’ can be a great help to people like ptrjnf trying to transition.

Kenny Yépez

Hello, I came across this website that claims that chocho, an ecuadorian legume, has higher protein content than soy and doesn´t contain phytoestrogens! Is this true? I´ve done some research and just found a couple of articles that say the same thing. http://chocho.planeta.ec/

Thea

Kenny: I don’t know if it is true or not, but let’s suppose for a minute that both points are true: 1) chocho has more protein than soy, 2) choco does not have phytoestrogens. Neither point makes chocho a better choice than soy.

Thea,
Thanks for posting the video. I’ll try the amino acids Dr. G named one by one, to see if one of them works. My problem shows up quickly: I get a low fever within a few hours of the vegan meal, so I should find out fairly soon.

Thea

VegEater: Best of luck! Some ideas for you:

1) Dr. Greger mentions some of the non-essential amino acids, but not all of them. I got the sense that the video is just providing an example list. So, you may need to test more than just what is mentioned in the video?

2) I would think that (if available to you) a doctor would be able to help you more quickly and safely? identify what which amino acid(s) are the problem if that is indeed your problem. It would hopefully take away the guess work???

3) If you are experiencing a problem very soon after consuming a veg meal, could the problem be more of an allergy type thing instead? I’m not a doctor nor an expert by any means, but it sounds to me like your body is more having a reaction to something you are eating as opposed to something your meal is missing. I really have no idea if that is right or not. But it might give you another avenue of investigation if your amino acid theory does not pan out.

Again, I wish you a ton of luck. It sounds like this is very serious and needs to be figured out.

Susan Campbell

Great ideas. I’ll be seeing just the right doctor to bring this up with in a couple of months. Don’t think it’s an allergic reaction to the foods because if I eat the veg foods + meat/fish/egg, nothing happens.
After this discussion, I tried taking Acetyl-L-Carnitine + Lipoic Acid (recommended for MS anyway) and was thrilled to find that they totally stopped a serious problem of blood flow being cut off to legs after just a few steps of vigorous exercise. Did not stop the fever from eating meatless meals.
Thanks very much for your help.

VegEater

I’ve now vegan (eliminated egg whites) and was very surprised to find that my fever problem has gone away. I can’t explain it, but I’m thrilled.
We’re also switching our dogs to Vdog, in hopes that the absence of meat will help them resist cancer. They love it so far.

Thea

VegEater: Congrats on conquering your fever problem. That’s pretty cool.
.
FYI: My Great Dane has been on v-dog for 6 years. He also loves it. And now he is a healthy 12 year old. (Which is very rare for Great Danes, who usually only live about 8-10 years.) Best of luck to your doggies!

Misuar

Hello. Can you tell me if Pea Protein Powder is healthy? I want to build some muscle and cut down on chicken, so I’m looking for extra protein. Thanks.

Cathleen_NF_Moderator

Hi Misuar- Have you checked out today’s (April 25) video on protein? (Here it is: Protein combining myth). Between the video and all the great discussion you’ll see that protein supplements are generally unnecessary for those eating a WFPB diet. That said, you’ll see in the discussion that some folks are using plant-based supplements and they have some suggestions for good products. Hope that helps!

Granite7

Plant based diets can be good. Especially for the physically lazy who
have developed high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or
obesity. They are predominately in ill health due to a combination of:
1) Low physical activity (less than 30 min of vigorous exercise daily),
2) Polluted environmental influences and 3) Poor nutritional intake. The
plant based diet may be temporarily effective for CORRECTING poor health from these
factors, but for the growing population of responsibly physically active individuals
that require higher protein diets, a strictly plant based diet will only starve their
muscles, bones and tendons leading to injury, tissue damage and
disease. As an expert in the health field, you need to be intelligent
enough to not group the entire population of humans into one narrow
category with the same biological needs. Protein from lean organic free-range meats
and organic dairy both which are free of anti-biotic and hormone influence is essential for a well balanced body and a long
disease-free life. (BTW- Pork products should not be considered food in anyone’s book.) You also need to emphasize the consumption of raw
organic plant-based produce from QUALITY sources and the need for mineral
supplementation as today’s plant based diets lack essential nutrients
due to poor soil conditions and pollutants from herbicide, pesticides,
and GMO mutations. My opinion is you still have a lot to learn before
you can be deemed an expert in nutritional health. Knowledge is not
enough. Wisdom is what man must seek.

ben

Hello,
My question is regarding the safety hemp protein powder. Is there anything I should be considered about in using hemp protein powder? It seems to be the best way to get more vegan protein as it is a whole food and the ingredient list is often just hemp, are there any compounds or contaminants in hemp that when taken in high amounts are associated with negative effects?
Thanks,
Costa

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Unlike the United States, where the agriculture department is the lead agency on formulating dietary recommendations, other countries such as Greece rely on their health department. What do their dietary guidelines look like?